Sudden

Organ transplantation.

No Rejection Reaction.

"Can this even be considered an [Organ Transplantation] surgery?"

Zhou Zhi sensed his own body; compared to before, the sensation of insects gnawing at him had diminished significantly, replaced by an abnormal feeling in his nasal cavity.

His throat felt vaguely uncomfortable, and Zhou Zhi coughed twice, but the abnormal sensation did not subside.

"[Common cold]... symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection."

Zhou Zhi did not care about the question of whether he was still human; he only cared about his current physical condition.

According to the mysterious message, his body could sustain life for approximately three more days. Clearly, this was the result of transplanting this [Inferior Lung].

As for pathogenization, Zhou Zhi's pupils flickered.

Does it refer to the various reactions of the body manifesting as a [Common Cold]?

The Pathogenization Index was currently at twenty-something percent, and his body felt slightly unwell.

If it reached one hundred percent, what would happen?

Zhou Zhi swept his gaze over the corpses with their lungs excised.

He said no more.

Instead, he gripped the [Key] and the [Worn Scalpel] in his hands.

The key was a necessity, but Zhou Zhi also intended to take this strangely shaped so-called scalpel with him.

"Just now, during the organ excision, the scalpel displayed a strange power. Although I couldn't capture it, it definitely existed."

A fusion that defied common sense, within a sealed space littered with corpses.

Zhou Zhi accurately digested the information he had obtained and confirmed that there was nothing else of value in this room.

Afterward, he inserted the key into the hole.

He turned it slightly.

The lock cylinder emitted a click.

Creak—

The hinges turned, and the door opened.

Ahead lay a seemingly deep, dark staircase leading upward.

"This is not the Northern First Hospital."

Unlike the morgue from before, the walls were made of a material similar to cement, looking very rough, like wrinkled human faces.

The smell of disinfectant in the air became heavy, even more so than in the morgue.

Coughing twice, Zhou Zhi directed his gaze toward the top.

Following the stairs, the man's footsteps were steady.

The duration of every step was exactly the same.

At the end of the stairs, directly above, was a square partition.

He pressed his finger against the partition; there was a slight resistance. It wasn't locked, but something heavy was pressing down on it.

Zhou Zhi did not push it open immediately, but instead pricked up his ears.

From the outside came slightly clamorous sounds.

There were men and women, seemingly arguing.

It was not the Northern language, yet Zhou Zhi could understand it.

"If we keep carrying these burdens..."

"We... we will all die."

"It would be better to divide these supplies here."

There was a noisy male voice, sounding unfriendly, reaching the point of anger.

"Hmm, not the Northern Federation."

Zhou Zhi judged from the accent and tone.

"The supplies here were limited to begin with, and we still have to support these sickly weaklings. Who knows when their Pestilence will break out?"

"When that happens, we'll all die!"

The man's roaring voice was accompanied by the agreement of several others.

A woman's voice spoke up: "There will be a way. The [Epidemic War Corps] will arrive soon. As long as the Plague Exterminators come, we can..."

"Can what? Can do what?"

The man's cold voice rang out: "Xia Yu, can they come to collect our corpses?"

"The entire Blue Stone Town has been a [Pestilence Zone] for a week now. Where are the Plague Exterminators?"

"Those high-and-mighty Plague Exterminators couldn't care less about us common folk; they only care about themselves."

"We are the only ones who can save ourselves."

"Staying in this Marginalized Tattered Clinic is just waiting for death. You'll end up just like Bai Xiu, rotting in the basement!"

A voice came from the other side: "Lei Heng, what did you say?!"

"It was Doctor Bai Xiu who saved you all!"

"He was the one who gave you medicine."

A mocking voice rang out.

"Doctor? Only Plague Exterminators are qualified to be called doctors, not some waste who wets himself in the face of a plague."

The sound of arguing erupted once more as Zhou Zhi pressed his right hand against the top.

With a forceful shove.

A surge of immense power erupted, completely pushing aside the heavy objects piled against the basement seal.

The scene fell silent.

Warm-toned lights hung in the two-story room.

On both sides stood wooden cabinets of various designs, which should have looked quite orderly, but were now ransacked and left in a chaotic mess.

Zhou Zhi narrowed his eyes, taking in the scene before him.

There were about twenty people in the room.

Split into two halves, the divide between them was clear as day.

At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi didn't look at either side, instead casting his gaze toward the full-length mirror on the side.

The mirror reflected the man's appearance.

"Sixteen to eighteen years old."

"Fair skin, the ulcerations on his body seem to have dissipated due to the Lung Transplantation."

"Lean build, but not to the point of malnutrition."

Zhou Zhi's gaze remained impartial.

"He looks quite handsome... much like I did before."

"But this, it seems, is not me."

As Zhou Zhi continued to observe his own magnificent face, Lei Heng's voice suddenly exploded.

"He's wearing a corpse's clothes."

"It's... it's... it's a reanimated corpse!!!"

"It's the Plague!"

"Pestilence Transformation!!"

Lei Heng's sinister expression had completely shifted.

The look of unbridled rage from a moment ago had been replaced by a terror that seeped deep into his skin.

His entire body was consumed by tremors.

"Oh."

Zhou Zhi raised his hand and waved it gently.

"I'm human, I'm human."

[Malicious Human].

[Pathogenization Index: Seven percent].

[Source of Pathogenization: Influenza].

[His mind is filled with lust for women and fear of the unknown plague].

[Preparing to launch a pathetic attack].

As soon as Zhou Zhi finished speaking, Lei Heng lunged forward.

"Kill you!"

"Kill you!"

The sinister man, like a hyena, instantly drew a small dagger from his waist.

"Watch out."

A girl's cry rang out.

The next second.

Zhou Zhi's hand gripped Lei Heng's left hand.

A violent force struck, feeling like steel pincers as it pressed down slightly.

The sinister man's left hand twisted instantly.

Meanwhile, in Zhou Zhi's right hand, the [Scalpel] spun against his palm, gently slicing open the sinister man's skin.

Clang.

The dagger fell to the floor.

Zhou Zhi's calm gaze met Lei Heng's eyes.

Blood spread from the man's palm all the way to the base of his elbow.

"That is not how a blade is used."

Accompanied by a shrill scream, Zhou Zhi gave a light push, and Lei Heng stumbled, collapsing onto the ground.

His pupils were filled with terror, his mouth gasping for air involuntarily.

His companions nearby hurried to help him up.

Zhou Zhi did not look at the man again, walking straight ahead instead.

He scanned his surroundings.

This place is...

[Clinic].

Someone's clinic.

It was not large, likely meant for only one person.

"That scalpel... belongs to Mr. Bai Xiu..."

The girl's voice, clear as an oriole, rang in Zhou Zhi's ear.

Zhou Zhi turned back.

A girl wearing a beige blouse.

Her defining feature was...

She was overly beautiful.

Her eyes were bright, like the warm sun of spring.

Her expressions were fluid, her frown gentle.

[An excessively beautiful girl].

[Golden ratio features, blending almost every trait preferred by the opposite sex].

[An individual almost impossible to encounter in your daily life].

[In this world, perfection is pathology].

[Pathogenization Index: 5.4%].

[Source of Pathogenization: ???].